Partners
by Gilly Bean2
Summary: Ex-FBI Agent turned LAPD Detective, Liam O'Neil is partnered with Elizabeth Summers to solve a gruesome crime. Normal People, no vamps, demons, etc. R+R pls **Chap 8finally up
1. Doughnuts, Coffee, and Crime In that ord...

Title: Partners  
  
Author: Gilly Bean  
  
Disclaimer: Ok, so this one night, my husband and I were sitting down to dinner in a small French café, when suddenly, the waiter brought a phone over on a silver platter. Eager to hear who had found me, I was shocked to hear Joss on the other end. He was apparently going to move to Budapest, and join some weird Anti-Buffy cult, and he wanted me to personally oversee the production and writing of Buffy for all future seasons. Also, he gave me James Marsters, just to sweeten the deal. Well, not to be one to let down my good buddy, I agreed that I would write Buffy for him. He said he wanted them to be normal now, and thus, I made it so. Joss fell in love, and now, I live happily ever after as a gazillionaire in Paris. Ah, the good life. . . . ***Bzzzz*** ***Bzzz*** Opening my eyes, I groaned in realization that once again, the evil alarm clock has foiled my plans to take over Buffyworld.  
  
Feedback: I appreciate every piece I receive, so for those who have reviewed my other stories, thank you, and for those who review this one, thank you again. Help us struggling authors out, people, and let us know what you like!  
  
Distribution: FF.net, of course, www.members.tripod.com/gilly_bean2/ (otherwise known as Love's Bitch), and Valerie over at Band Of Buggered is welcome to all of my material.  
  
Summery: Liam O'Neil is an ex-FBI agent turned LAPD Detective. He gets assigned to a gruesome case working with LAPD's Detective Elizabeth Summers. No Vamps, Slayers, Demons, Hellmouth, etc. Just good old fashioned normal. Well, as normal as California can be, that is.  
  
**********  
  
Chapter 1- Doughnuts, Coffee and Crime. In that order.  
  
Elizabeth Summers walked into the office armed with coffee and doughnuts for the meeting. She wasn't looking forward to this, because she had a feeling it was going to be about her finally getting a new partner. It wasn't that she didn't want one, but rather, that she went through them so quickly that it wasn't worth the headache it took to train them properly.  
  
She entered the room, and glared when most the eyes turned towards her. "What? Like you never saw me be nice before?" She heard several of the men snicker as she sat the goodies down. Grabbing her own coffee and doughnut, Elizabeth went to the back and made herself comfortable.  
  
Finally, the chief entered the room, bringing with him a tall dark haired man. Tall, dark and.Elizabeth waited till he turned his face towards the group, Yup, and handsome.Just my luck. She glanced at Willow, a friend from collage who was on the forensic analysis team. She was great on computers, and just about as good with science.  
  
Willow, Elizabeth noticed, wasn't immune to the look this guy had, either. Willow's long red hair was pulled back into a French braid that was tucked under, with her bangs hanging just above her eyes. Willow was a very pretty girl who, unfortunately, had little self-confidence when it came to guys. Elizabeth smiled, and thought this would be a perfect chance to try and set Willow up with this guy.  
  
"Alright, alright, talking can cease anytime now, guys."  
  
"Hey!" The sound came from several of the women in the room.  
  
"Sorry, sorry, people. Anyway, this is Liam O'Neil. He'll be working with Detective Summers from now on. Detective O'Neil joins us as a retiree from the FBI, so, Summers, I expect this one will last." Most of the people in the room laughed quietly, and Elizabeth felt her face growing bright red.  
  
She ducked down slightly, hiding her head behind the officer in front of her. Liam's eyes searched the crowd for his new partner. He hadn't heard anything except that Summers couldn't keep a partner longer then 6 months. Went through them too fast. He didn't discern anyone who looked put out by the information, except for a tiny blond hiding her face in the back.  
  
"Summers, come get your prize, and continue working on that Holtzlander case. It's been 2 months. I want that solved, and soon. Everyone else, you already have your assignments, so get to work." Everyone started to file out, and Liam waited patiently for Summers. Finally, the petite blond dressed in black dress pants and a short-sleeved black top came up to him.  
  
She barely came to his chin, and her long hair was pinned into a tight coil at her neck. She smelled faintly of vanilla, he thought ideally. She looked up at him, and he noticed the pale gold flecks in her green eyes. Blinking, he wondered briefly where that thought had come from.  
  
"Follow me, Detective, and we can get started. My name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Detective Summers, or just Detective, or just Summers. I hope you're used to bottom feeding it, because we are hardly the feds here. Just plain old L.A.P.D. Should be a nice break, though."  
  
Without slowing down, she quickly made her way to an office in the back. It was tiny, cramped really, but there were two desks sitting front to front. One was empty, devoid of anything, while the other was neat and orderly, stacks of file folders on one side, and a small nameplate on the other.  
  
Elizabeth sat down on her side, and picked a file up. Skimming through it, she tossed it on his side of the desk. Liam stood in the doorway watching her for a moment. He had expected a man. A big burly, gruff man who chased partners away at the speed of light.  
  
"Alright, Detective Summers, you have me wondering. How is it you go through partners so fast?"  
  
She glanced up at him for a moment. "I don't go through partners. They just can't handle being detective's with me. You may have come from the feds, and likely from that, you think no one in a simple police outfit could be any good, but I'm one of the best there is in the state. The guys they stick me with can't keep up, or hold up their own end."  
  
She turned back to scanning files without waiting for a response from him. He sat down, and started looking at the case in front of him. It was a serial kidnapper. The guy had a thing for redheads and blonds. Not a brunette in the bunch, even though there was nearly twenty-five girls who had come up missing, then came forward later, brutally beaten.  
  
Never once in any of them had there been a rape victim. The girls all swore up and down that he never touched them sexually. They were subjected to days of starvation, and then the food they were given was usually laced with something, causing them to vomit it right up.  
  
They were beaten during the entire time. Many came back sustaining permanent injuries ranging from blindness in one eye, to living life in a wheel chair. All the girls had similar histories, college students, and popular, friendly, out going. 15 out of the 25 had held some form of title while in high school, from may queen, to prom princess, to homecoming court.  
  
Most helped out with charities, and none held outside jobs at all. The girls were all very well liked in their communities. All had been reported missing within hours of actually being missing, which said a lot in a collage environment where people easily fell through the cracks.  
  
Elizabeth watched as he looked over the first file. Regina Fellows, a 22- year-old senior at UCLA. Blond hair, wide green eyes, helped out on 3 charities around LA, and was generally a very nice girl. She had suffered from razor wounds to the face, the upper chest, and the hands. Her legs had both been broken, and it looked as though she would likely have a profound limp for life.  
  
Liam looked up, having felt her eyes on him. She had to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever met. She was tiny and feminine, but she was also full of spirit and fire, he could tell. He looked at her lips, full and pink, and begging to be kissed. She saw where his eyes dropped, and Elizabeth cleared her throat rather loudly.  
  
Flushing a tad, Liam looked up at her eyes again, and saw the telltale start of a smirk. "I presume you have heard about the case of James Holtzlander, correct?"  
  
Liam nodded curtly. "We know his name, though it appears to be an alias, correct? He is the name all 25 of the girls came back with."  
  
She smirked slightly. "Close. Only 20 girls came back with that name, the other 5 came back with a new name. Kenneth Stowe. Neither checks out as anything big. 3 Kenneth Stowe's in the LA area, and 12 in California. James Holtzlander came back a bit more selectively, with only 1 in LA, and only 7 in California. All of the guys have had their California license picture shown to the girls, and not one of them is recognized."  
  
She stood and went to the file cabinet in the corner and pulled out a new file. This one was slimmer, but newer then the others.  
  
"This is the observation that our psychologist came up with for Holtzlander. Places him as being a lonely bitter man. That much I could have told you myself without any inside information on the guy. His physical appearance changes from time to time, hair color, eye color, even age. Several girls said he was older, probably around 55-60, while some said he was only around 30. A few even said he could pass for as young as 20-25."  
  
She pulled a sheet out from the file, and handed it to him. "The one drop of blood we got that didn't match the girls, Madison Layne. We got the DNA from it, but without a suspect, it's pretty much useless. Tells us it's a man, middle aged, no diseases, no major health problems that we can detect at all, but hell, it's one tiny drop."  
  
Liam picked up each new piece he was handed and studied them all carefully while listening to her. "I guess I probably don't have to ask this, but I presume you have composites drawn up?" Liam cocked an eyebrow up at her as she stood leaning over the desk towards him. As he looked up, his mouth came parallel to her neck, and he felt it start to water as he breathed in the vanilla scent. Mentally shaking himself, he looked up at her face.  
  
She moved away, walking towards the back wall of the tiny room. A large map was pulled down currently, with several green spots marking the place where the girls were found, and red ones marking the places where the girls were taken. She tugged at the bottom, and it snapped up. Behind it, there was a crime wall, showing pictures of each girl, both before and after, then showing each suspect drawing the girls had given, along with any other pertinent information.  
  
Liam stood and went over to the pictures. The only thing that remained the same was the shape of the eyes. Even the mouths had looked slightly different. He quickly glanced at each one, and filed the image away for later use.  
  
"Well, it's LA. Have you looked into the possibility of make-up artist? Changing his face that much requires skill. Or a surgeon, but I somehow doubt he goes in to get a weekly facelift."  
  
Elizabeth nodded curtly, and glanced from photo to photo. She had memorized all the information, had all the photos ingrained in her memory. All she wanted at this point was for the guy to be caught, tried, and beaten daily in prison. Guys who beat women didn't fare well in prison, and she was looking forward to that.  
  
Liam turned towards the desk, and sat down. He started reading every detail in every report. There were 25 reports dealing with the girls alone, ad each report file was fairly thick. On top of that, there was a huge file dealing with the overall case, case studies of the perp, and several smaller ones dealing with the two names in question.  
  
Most of the morning was spent in silence, with only an occasional phone call to distract either of them. At 11:30, Willow poked her head in. "Buffy, I'm heading to lunch, wanna come?" Elizabeth groaned. She had stopped using the name Buffy in collage, but it was the only name Willow would call her. She glanced at Liam and saw he had his eyebrow cocked again.  
  
"Yes, Will, I'll go to lunch with you." Turning towards Liam, she smirked. "Use that name, and you won't last a week as my partner. And Will, please, please please, for the love of all that is good and holy, call me Elizabeth at work?"  
  
Willow held back a sicker as she watched Elizabeth flustering. She glanced at Liam and smiled while holding her hand forward. "Willow Rosenburg. I'm in forensic analysis. Nice to have you aboard, Liam. Oh, and don't worry her bite isn't too bad. Just takes getting used to. Wanna come with us for lunch?"  
  
Elizabeth perked a bit. Having Liam to lunch with Willow would allow her to start with the match making. Little did she know, Willow thought the same.  
  
"I would love to, Willow. But, only if you both allow me to treat. It's my first day, and I was hoping to make a good impression with that harridan they stuck me with for a partner." Willow nearly burst out laughing, but stopped herself when she caught Elizabeth's eyes.  
  
Liam's dark brown eyes twinkled when he looked at Elizabeth. With a frustrated groan, she grabbed her suit jacket, and her car keys, and they all left the building. 


	2. Shrimp Alfredo, Duty Calls, and Chinese

Chapter 2- Shrimp Alfredo, Duty Calls, and Chinese.  
  
Elizabeth walked in to the restaurant behind Willow, with Liam holding the door open for the both of them. Slipping her sunglasses off as she entered, Elizabeth looked around the half filled Italian place that Liam had chosen. She had never been there, but the wonderful scent of pasta and tomatoes filled the air, and it smelled very good. A young girl showed them to a table in a dark private corner of the room, and left them with menus.  
  
Liam waited until both women seated themselves before sitting down at the chair in the middle of the both of them. Willow kept shooting glances at Elizabeth, who was busy trying to ignore them while looking over the menu.  
  
"So, Liam. where do you live? Here in town?" Willow asked him politely.  
  
"No, I live about 2 hours from here in a small place called Sunnydale. It's a long drive, but the town is nice, so it's worth it." He smiled at her, and folded his menu and placed it on the table. He didn't know why he even bothered to look it over anymore; he always ordered the Shrimp Alfredo and a glass of merlot to go with it.  
  
"Oh, Sunnydale! We're both from there! We live here in town now, but I grew up there, and Buffy moved there to go to school. We're grads of UCSD. Buffy got a degree in criminal psychology, but preferred the street work to the evaluating." Elizabeth glared across the table at Willow every time she heard the name she had so long ago decided to drop.  
  
"Willow Elaine Rosenburg.." She said in a soft but menacing tone.  
  
"What, Elizabeth Anne Summers?" Willow batted her eyes innocently at Elizabeth.  
  
"Please, please, please. Stop calling me Buffy. At home, sure, anything you want. On the job, no." Elizabeth put her nose back to the menu, and read over a few mouth-watering selections.  
  
The waitress arrived then, and took their drink orders. Elizabeth was surprised when Liam ordered the same wine she had, right down to the grower and year. The also put in their lunch selections at the same time, and again, Elizabeth had to marvel that Liam again picked the same.  
  
They fell into a pleasant conversation, one where both Elizabeth and Willow were trying to practically sell Liam the other. Both felt it necessary to point out the good qualities each had, and somewhere along the line, it was slipped in that both girls were single, and roommates. Elizabeth owned a nice sized 4-bedroom, 3 and a half bath house, and Willow rented out the basement portion as kind of her own apartment.  
  
When the food arrived, the conversation lulled a bit while all three ate quietly. As they were finishing up, Elizabeth and Liam's pagers both went off within moments of each other. Groaning slightly, Elizabeth glanced down at it, and recognized the code.  
  
"Shit. Another girl's been found." She said quietly, after Liam looked at her questioningly. He hadn't yet had a chance to get a list of the codes they used on the pagers, so he had not had a clue what it was about at first. He flagged their waitress down, and rather then wait for the bill, he handed her a hundred dollar bill, and escorted the girls back to Elizabeth's police issue suburban.  
  
***************  
  
They walked into Chief Watson's office barely 10 minutes after the page went off. He quickly gave them the information, and after grabbing several things for the questioning, they left again. The girl was the same as before, this one with red hair and bright green eyes. She was only slightly different, in that she wasn't actively in school anymore. She had just her student teaching left to do, and was doing that at one of the local high school. She had been missing for nearly 2 weeks.  
  
Samantha Stone was 22 years old, and had a promising career as a teacher ahead of her. She was well liked, and respected by most of the teachers at the high school she taught at. Overall, she was a classic for this guys sick game.  
  
Elizabeth and Liam made their way to the scene where she was found. They hadn't been given all the details originally, and when they arrived, they knew instantly that something was different. This was set up as a crime scene, where as most the times, the girl was released somewhere, and she would either go home, or to the hospital, or in 4 cases, to the police. This girl wouldn't be doing any of that, however, because she was lying in the grass under a tree, white chalk was sprayed in an outline while police officers scurried around her.  
  
Samantha Stone lay silent, her red hair lying in disarray around her head; her green eyes shut to the bright, though sometimes harsh, light of the world around her. Her laugh would never again be heard, her eyes would never light up at the site of someone she loves again. In short, she was gone, and though Elizabeth had seen her share of death scenes, they always hit her hard right at first. Turning from the site, she took in a deep calming breath, and felt Liam's hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Hey, you all right?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, and turned back around, her face composed again. "I'm fine. It just always hits me that when they die, they're dead." She shrugged and strode purposefully up to the crime scene. She had a pair of rubber gloves in her jacket pocket that she pulled out and slipped on.  
  
Bending down, Elizabeth used the tip of her ink pen to shift a wad of blond hair off the ground. The hair was matted, and from color alone, she knew it wasn't Samantha's. Motioning for one of the evidence collectors, she let the hair drop into a plastic baggy, and quickly marked where she found it, and signed her name.  
  
Liam looked at the girl for a moment, and as soon as the photos of her were taken, he pulled a sheet from the coroner over her prone body. He quickly took in the details, however; her torn black shirt, her one missing shoe, the blood dried on her legs. It stayed fresh in his mind as he started to shift through the scene.  
  
Both stayed on separate paths, going from one point to the next; each doing things their own way. When they finally finished with the scene, it was nearly 7pm at night. Elizabeth was jolted from her silent observance of the scene by her cell phone. Sighing softly, she walked towards her suburban as she answered the phone.  
  
"Detective Summers" she said clearly into the phone.  
  
"Hey, Elizabeth. I was hoping you would be up for a movie and dinner tonight? You know, seeing as how we planned on it." The English accent faded off on the other end and Elizabeth groaned.  
  
"William, I'm sorry. something came up, and I'm just now leaving to get back to the office. I wasn't keeping track of the time, or I would have called. I need to go, but call me later in the week and we can try to get together then." Without waiting for an answer, Elizabeth hung up and shut the phone. She clipped it back to her waist band, and went to grab Liam.  
  
"Detective O'Neil, if you are done here, we should get back to the office to get our reports done." She looked up at him with her wide hazel eyes, and he felt a tug again in his chest. Pushing the feeling aside, for now, he nodded and finished up the talk he was having with another officer. He silently followed her back to the suburban, and got in.  
  
She was quiet as they pulled away from the crime scene, her thoughts turning towards her missed date. She had tried three times now to set up a date with William, and it just never worked out. He likely wouldn't call this week. They never did after this many missed dates. She snapped out of her thoughts, and looked over to Liam.  
  
"What did you make of the death?"  
  
"Violent, most likely an accident. I don't think he meant to have her wind up dead. Heard you found some blond hair at the scene. Think it's our next girl?"  
  
"I want to check first with one of the other girls. She said her hair had been pulled out in a few globs. Might just be hers. If not, though, I'd think it will be the next girls hair."  
  
"So, Summers, since we look like we're going to be at the office for a while tonight, how bout stopping for some food on the way?"  
  
"Yeah, I can. Any preference?"  
  
"Chinese?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, and pulled into a place she ate at often on her late night. They didn't have to wait long for their order to come out, and were sitting behind their desks quick enough. 


	3. Reflections, Realizations, and Regrets

It's never quite that easy. You go through the door. They're never just sitting there waiting for you with a welcoming smile on their face. The best you can do is hope they fuck up, and do what you can to be there when they do. Time's up. - The Watcher  
  
  
  
Chapter 3- Reflections, Realizations, and Regrets.  
  
Liam followed Elizabeth back towards their office, his arms laden with bags of Chinese food. She carried a briefcase in one hand, and balanced two large soda's in her free arm. Elizabeth was immensely glad when they came upon their office to find the door partially open still. Not missing a beat, Elizabeth kicked it and continued walking through.  
  
She sat the briefcase down, then put the large soda's down as well before turning to take the food from Liam. She motioned towards the back where a stash of plastic forks and spoons sat, along with paper cups, plates, some microwave cup meals, an open bag of honey roasted peanuts, and a box of crackers that looked about 2 years old.  
  
"I tend to collect left over snacks and what not when my partners leave me." She smirked at him as he grabbed them both forks and some extra napkins. Elizabeth pulled out the mini recorder she used to talk into while at the crime scene. Her soft, yet strong voice filled the room.  
  
"3:46 pm, corner of Washington Avenue and Lane street. Deceased appears to be Samantha Stone, 22-year-old student teacher. Shirt is torn in many places. There appears to be bruising around her collar bone, as well as long lacerations showing in various places on her upper chest, and neck."  
  
Elizabeth quietly ate her chicken fried rice as she listened to her notes. Liam was doing the same, concentrating on the visual the notes were giving him of the crime scene. In his mind, he was able to envision it again as though it were a 3-D picture of a room on a computer. One of the kinds where you could turn the mouse in different directions to see every angle.  
  
"Her hair is matted down in places, tangled with twigs and a dark substance; likely blood, and even more likely, her own. Just above her head and slightly to the left of her body is a clump of blonde hair, equally matted. The victims face is an array of colors from multiple bruise. Above her right eye is a deep laceration that likely should have had stitches.  
  
Her left cheekbone looks as though it might be shattered. Some of the bruises look to have been healing, suggesting they range in time as far back as possibly a week old, to as new as having received them just before time of death."  
  
Elizabeth sat her food down, and closed her eyes as the crime scene came into focus in her mind. It was never easy doing a scene like that, but she had gotten so close to so many of the girls in this case, that it was even harder, knowing she would never get a chance to hear Samantha's side of the story.  
  
"Moving down her body, the victims pants are missing, leaving only a pair of black panties. The right side has a large tear down it, ending at the leg elastic. Her legs are bent awkwardly, her right leg bent at the knee and pulled outward, while the other is pulled nearly backwards from a natural position. Inner thighs are marked with small dime sized burn marks, possibly cigar."  
  
Liam's mind drifted over the body, his eyes stopping and zooming in on the marks on her inner thighs. Just as the tape said, they were roughly dime sized, and too big to have been caused by a cigarette. He heard Elizabeth sigh softly, and his eyes popped open, instantly vanquishing the 3-D room from his mind. Her eyes were closed, and she had started worrying at her lower lip with her teeth.  
  
Liam had the strongest urge for a moment to take that same lip, and nibble on it himself. Her hair was pulled back almost severely tight, and his fingers suddenly itched to pull it free, and see if it fell in silken waves, and just how far down it would go. Liam groaned softly, and Elizabeth's eyes opened. He quickly looked back towards his food, and mentally kicked himself to get his mind back on the job.  
  
Elizabeth leaned over and clicked off the recorder. She had noticed Liam's gaze, and the subsequent flush of his skin when he looked towards his food. Smirking slightly, she pulled out a new file, and began writing her own observations in it. Liam took the hint, and went about filling in his own observations.  
  
He had noticed when he was reading through the case files that only about half had two observations, and that more often then not, she worked alone. He was pretty damn sure she didn't want a partner, and that she wouldn't make it easy on him in the next few weeks. Lucky for him he had the gruffest orneriest man at the FBI as a partner for nearly 3 years before he decided it was to hectic for him, and went about getting out as quickly as was humanly possible.  
  
Elizabeth felt her mind beginning to drift, and she glanced up at the wall clock, noting that it was after 11 already. Grumbling to herself in her mind, she kept going, eager to finish up as much of the report as possible, while it was all fresh in her mind, not dulled from sleep and time. Stifling a yawn, she leaned back in her chair and started rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hands.  
  
Liam looked up from the report, and saw that his partner was starting to tire, and he put the pen down he had been writing diligently with. His report was mostly filled out, though he knew from experience that he would spend the next few days adding tidbits as he recalled them. For now, however, he was ready to call it for the evening.  
  
"Elizabeth, you can leave some of it for tomorrow you know." He watched her carefully as he talked, hoping that the use of her first name didn't upset her.  
  
"Yeah, well, try telling that to Samantha Stone. She doesn't have a tomorrow now."  
  
He sighed and ran his hand through his tousled locks, shifting them around even more so that they stuck out at odd angles from his face. "I know. It's bad when we lose someone like that, but don't you think you're being a little hard on yourself tonight? Come on, it's going to be midnight soon, and I don't think we need to be putting in so many hours that we're not fresh in the morning. We'll catch this guy, and quickly, if I have any say in the matter."  
  
She stood up and placed her hands on her desk as she leaned over towards him, a glare on her face. "It's never that easy! We almost had him once. We went through the door. He wasn't just sitting there waiting with a welcoming smile. The best we can hope for now, is that he'll fuck up again, and that we can be there when he does. Time is getting dangerously close to expiring on us." She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a deep calming breath. Opening them again, she straightened her back out, and stood in a les threatening way.  
  
Liam stood, and pulled his jacket on, then walked over to her. "Come on, Elizabeth. Buffy. you need to unwind a bit. We'll go, get a drink, talk about each other for a while, and fall asleep with thoughts of life, not death, on our minds." He walked with her as she grudgingly turned the light out in their office, and shut the door, locking it behind her. It was one of the small privileges of being top dog in the station. She got a door with a lock, to protect her files, of course.  
  
They walked silently out to the suburban, and Liam gave her directions to a small pub not to far away. She followed behind his small black sports car, and pulled into the parking lot, the entire time berating herself for having agreed to this.  
  
She shut her suburban off, and sat staring at the door to the pub for a moment. She wasn't sure she wanted to go in; all she wanted to do was curl up in front of her TV, and fall asleep watching old Molly Ringwald movies. She jumped when Liam was suddenly at her door, tapping on the glass. He made a motion for her to get out, and after a moments hesitation, she did.  
  
Liam sensed her hesitation, and was rather glad when she finally got out and followed him in. The pub was owned by his father and uncle, so he was well known. When he walked in, his brother Connor was standing behind the bar. Younger then Liam by a few years, Connor was built slimmer, and had bright piercing green eyes, and the same dark hair as Liam, though his was slightly longer, and flopped around his face. He had a quick and ready smile for just about everyone, but it was especially big when he saw Liam walk in.  
  
The pub was fairly quiet tonight, as there had been a block party a few streets over that had taken most the patrons. Liam slid up to the bar, and sat down, then looked back to see if Elizabeth would follow or not. She did after looking around the room for a few moments. She slid onto the bar stool next to Liam, and watched as the bar tender came over and greeted Liam by name. She looked at him questioningly, wondering for a brief moment how often he came here.  
  
"Elizabeth Summers, Connor O'Neil, my little brother. Connor, this is my new partner, Detective Summers." He leaned in, and in an elaborate stage whisper, told Connor of her hesitation to be called Elizabeth, or even Buffy.  
  
Elizabeth's face was growing a bit flushed as she listened to Liam talk. Connor laughed at Liam, then turned to wink at her. "Don't worry, lass, if he gets out of line, just call him Angel." He stepped back quickly when Liam's hand grabbed out for him.  
  
"Hey, now, that's not playing fair, Con!" Connor just chuckled, and smiled at Elizabeth, who was oddly quiet.  
  
"What can I get you to drink, Love?" She thought for a moment, then ordered a mug of beer. "What would your preference be?" She blinked for a moment, then smiled sheepishly.  
  
"I don't know, I don't usually drink beer." Her voice was softer then it had been at work, and Liam found himself staring at her again for a moment. Connor raised his eyebrows and turned towards Liam.  
  
"Never had a beer? Liam, we have a virgin!" He left quickly, and Liam noticed the shade of red Elizabeth had turned. "Hey, there, he's just teasing. Don't worry, he'll be nice." Just as he finished, Connor came back carrying a tall mug that had frosted over from being in the freezer. He pulled out a bottle from one of the coolers, and sat the glass in front of Elizabeth.  
  
"Here now, this will start you off right. It's got a bit of a fruity flavor hidden in it, so it's not so harsh as some." He popped the top, and poured some Cherry Wheat into the glass. He had always thought it to be rather poetic to serve the 'virgins' cherry wheat. She tried it, and after an initial nose wrinkle, she drank the rest slowly as they sat talking.  
  
Elizabeth found out that his family owned the pub, which would be why he was so easily recognized. They managed to chat for quiet a while, and she had relaxed considerably around him, which he was glad of. By the end of the night, they were even laughing together, which surprised both of them.  
  
Connor had been watching, discreetly of course, and he started wondering about Liam. He could tell Liam liked Elizabeth, now all he had to do, was push the two of them together a bit. He walked back towards them around 12:30, and smiled at Elizabeth.  
  
"I hope this lummox invited you over to the house for dinner on Sunday. I know Mom and Da would love to have the chance to meet you." He smiled innocently when he glanced over at Liam, swallowing a smirk. "Oh, thank you, but I really can't. I have these long standing plans for Sunday's. Maybe some other time." Liam looked over at her, and chuckled.  
  
"Oh, come now, it can't be that important, can it? Miss one? Or, what time is it? We can eat when you are free."  
  
Elizabeth tugged at her lip with her teeth, and thought for a moment. If she pushed her trip to her mother's back until 5, she could go for dinner, and have plenty of time to make it to her mothers place north of LA. Wait, she thought for a moment. Liam lived in Sunnydale, didn't he? That would prove to be a rather long trip, if she had to drive from there.  
  
"Where at?" She finally asked him. He gave her directions to a small Irish community in LA, and Elizabeth sighed in relief, thinking it would be easier that way. "I have to be somewhere at 5, and it'll take almost 30 minutes to get there, but I guess I have time before hand."  
  
Liam and Connor both smiled, and exchanged a look. Connor's face was almost comically innocent looking, while Liam held a mixture of feelings to his face. He was happy she would be coming, but he was also upset that Connor had barged on in and asked without telling him first.  
  
******************  
  
Elizabeth walked into her house, closing the door quietly behind her, so she wouldn't disturb Willow. It had been a nice relaxing way to end the day, though she wasn't sure about dinner with his family. She knew a lot of police from the station who were great friends with their partners. It helped, really, because you could fully trust a friend much quicker then a stranger, but she had never had that kind of easy friendship with anyone at the station except for Willow.  
  
On the table, there was a note, and a bouquet of cheap flowers. Reading the note from Willow, she realized William must have dropped the flowers off for her. Maybe she should call him up, she thought. She hadn't honestly been giving him a chance. Hadn't given anyone a chance, really, not when it came to dating. She was just content with her life as it was, and didn't like change. She almost had started to regret that she had no man in her life lately. For once, she would like to know what it is like to wake up with someone, snuggled up to them.  
  
She went to bed, falling asleep quickly, with thoughts of both Liam and William on her mind. 


	4. Autopsies, and Interviews

Chapter 4-  
  
"O'Neil." Liam's voice came strong over the phone. Elizabeth was sitting at her desk, quickly writing up the final review of crime scene data. They were due in an hour down at the autopsy, and she wanted to make sure she had everything down before starting up the next part of this file, which would inevitably be longer then any other they had on this case so far.  
  
"Uh huh" Liam's voice gave quick short answers. "Right, we'll be right down." He hung the phone up, and glanced towards Elizabeth. She had worn her hair down today, and as she leaned over the paper, it fell in waves to cover her face from his view. He was not surprised to see that it shimmered with the light, giving off golden glints to highlight the color. Her outfit better showed off her coloring today, the jacket being a hunter green color, with an ivory blouse and hunter dress pants.  
  
He couldn't help but notice how she smelled, every time he came close to her, her unique scent would drift towards him, cloyingly sweet, but subtle at the same time. Shaking his head slightly, he started when she looked up. Clearing his throat, Liam stood up, and pulled his jacket on.  
  
"They need us downstairs. Some nut case claiming his neighbor is our guy." Elizabeth looked up at Liam for a moment, groaned, and then nodded. "Right. I believe that the powers that be are mocking me today," she responded as she stood, and closed her file back up.  
  
******************************  
  
Alex Harris sat at his desk, trying to calm the guy in front of him down, and trying to get the story out of him at the same time. The guy was chain smoking like a chimney, his hand shaking as he drew in each drag off the cigarette.  
  
"I'm telling ya, I saw her, I saw this blond girl, a few weeks back. I saw her going into this guys house. It was her! Then, the other night, he left, carrying a bag. It was big, oh man, it was a huge bag. You gotta believe me! Check it out, send someone over, come on, guys!" His voice was high pitched, due to his anxiety, and nerves, mostly.  
  
"Sir, I need for you to calm down, and we can talk about this, but I can't get anywhere until you do. I have the detectives working the case on their way down. But, all they are going to see right now is a loon. Can you calm down long enough to tell them the full story?"  
  
The guy took in a deep breath, and smashed out the cigarette, and then nodded as his brown eyes looked towards the officer he was talking with. Henry Kern had spent the last day scared out of his mind. He had heard about the murder while eating his dinner, and it stuck with him. He saw a picture of the girl, and that's when his panic attacks started hitting. Finally, this morning, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He had to go tell someone, or he would burst.  
  
Alex studied the man, and could tell something had scared him deeply, but he was hesitant to believe that this guy out of all the guys out there, had actually seen the murder. Seen him, nothing, lived next door to him, even. You couldn't get a break much luckier then that, which is why it was so unbelievable. Alex turned his head when he heard an outer door open, and from across the room, his eyes watched as Elizabeth Summers and her new Neanderthal partner.  
  
Alex had been trying for months to get Elizabeth to go out with him, but she steadfastly refused him each time. It was almost like she didn't take him seriously. He turned back to Henry Kern as the two detectives made their way towards him.  
  
"Alright, Kern, they're here. You gonna talk then?" Henry glanced from Alex towards the two who were coming to a stop towards the side of the desk now, and nodded after a moment. He was nervously chewing on his thumb nail to replace the lost sensation of the cigarette.  
  
"Harris, this the nu- guy?" Liam asked him quickly, his eyes briefly assessing Henry.  
  
"Yeah. Claims he saw his neighbor escorting one of the victims home a few weeks ago, and night before last, he saw the guy taking a large bag out to the car, and leaving. Then, he saw the murder on the news last night, and put 2 + 2 together, getting 4 as his own outcome."  
  
Elizabeth and Liam both nodded, then Elizabeth motioned for Harris, and stepped aside with him. "Is this guy all there, or is he the nut job he's rumored to be?" She asked him in a hushed voice.  
  
"I don't know, but I have a feeling that something scared the shit outta him. Whether it was imagined or not. I don't know." Alex responded, reminding himself to keep everything business only. Elizabeth nodded curtly, and walked back over to Liam and Henry Kern. Kern and Liam were talking in low tones.  
  
Elizabeth was impressed when she realized that Liam had managed to calm Kern down and watched them both for a moment. She thanked Alex then spoke up to Liam. "Let's take him back upstairs and get his statement before the autopsy." She turned and walked towards the elevator, not waiting to see if Liam and Kern were following.  
  
As Elizabeth stopped at the elevator, she felt rather then saw Liam step behind her, Kern next to him. As the doors opened, the trio stepped in silently, Elizabeth watching Kern intently. As they came to a stop on their floor, Elizabeth glanced at her watch. The autopsy was in 45 minutes, and they had to get this guys statement first.  
  
Liam pulled a chair up to sit between the two desks while Elizabeth made a cup of coffee and then sat on the edge of her desk to look at Kern. She grabbed a clean tape from her recorder, and slid it in, then hit record.  
  
Kern sat nervously twitching a bit. His eyes were darting back and forth between Elizabeth and Liam. Finally, Liam cleared his throat, and motioned for Kern to get started.  
  
"Well, this guy.. he's really quiet and keeps to himself mostly. I've noticed him bringing girls home once in a while, though, which frankly, shocked the shit outta me. Well, I hadn't noticed it at first, but after a while, a thought occurred to me that I had never seen a girl leave. Then, a few weeks ago, I see him bringing this blonde home, only it looked like she was pretty out of it. She had a cut across her cheek."  
  
Elizabeth looked over at Liam as he was writing down his own notes from the interview of sorts.  
  
"Well, there weren't any other girls over that I saw the whole time. Then, two nights ago, I saw him leaving. He was carrying something big, but I couldn't make it out. It was late, and his shrubs partially block the drive. I saw yesterday on the news. that guy, and the body. and well, I thought you might want to know about my neighbor."  
  
Elizabeth marked down some of her own notes, then looked up to find Liam studying the man before them.  
  
"What's the guy's name?"  
  
"I've never met the man, but his mailbox says Stanton." Kern shrugged, and glanced back and forth again. "Can I go now? I'll sign whatever you need, but I don't want him knowing it was me. Just want to go home and be done with all this."  
  
Elizabeth handed him the form he needed to sign off on, and took down the details of where he lived, which neighbor it was, and any other information they needed. She glanced back at her watch, and saw they only had 15 minutes to get to the autopsy. 


	5. Stake outs and Stalkings

Chapter 5  
  
**AN Ok, guys, I am skipping over the autopsy, cause there is no way I could write one up without knowing what is supposed to be going on. :-D**  
  
Elizabeth tossed her notebook onto her desk at home. She had gone over the details more then once, and nothing was adding up yet. After talking to their boss, Liam and Elizabeth had gotten permission to have one Daniel Stanton staked out. He had been noted coming and going at odd hours in the last two nights, but nothing concrete had been found.  
  
Liam had told her to go home and get some rest, stating that he would do the same when she came back in a few hours. Elizabeth smiled as her thoughts drifted towards the dark man who had taken up as her partner. Without knowing how, she had begun to notice that Liam was easily handling her as a partner, and was just as easily worming his way past her hard shell.  
  
"Buffy, you're home, good!" Willow walked in to the small office space they shared, and looked down at the notebook on the desk. "Anything happen yet?"  
  
"No, a big load of nothing. It's like he knows we're out there or something, and won't do anything at all." She took a bite of the apple she had brought in with her.  
  
"Well, I'm sure if it's him, he'll mess up eventually."  
  
"Yeah, and hopefully, when he does, we'll be there." She looked up towards Willow and forced a smile to grace her lips. Gone were the pleasant thoughts of Liam, and in their place, thoughts of a vicious predator.  
  
Elizabeth shook her head as she walked towards the window. Looking out, her thoughts frantically worked to piece together the puzzle. It seemed so easy, so amateurish at first. The more things happened, the more it seemed that the amateur façade was covering a mastermind.  
  
Slipping back from the window, Elizabeth walked silently from the room, and stepped into her own room. She slipped from the clothes that had grown grimy in her vigilance. She padded quietly across the carpeted floor and dropped her clothes into a wicker laundry hamper, then walked into her private bathroom.  
  
Elizabeth turned the knobs on the shower, and let her hand stray to the steady stream, feeling for the right temperature. Once she felt it, she slid her slim nude form under the pulsating water.  
  
************  
  
Liam watched as the guy entered his apartment, again going in empty handed. He couldn't understand it, but this guy didn't feel right. It felt like he was being set up, which made Liam wonder as to why, and whether or not the neighbor was involved. The night before a call had come in stating that another girl had gone missing. Until the girl showed up, there was no proof it was apart of the same crime, but she fit the profile.  
  
He glanced over, ready to say something to Elizabeth, only to recall that she wasn't there. Groaning softly, Liam turned back towards Stanton's place. She had occupied too much of his mind lately, and he needed it to stop. Liam had set the SUV up to be able to look on to both Stanton's place and Kern's place, on a hunch.  
  
Well, now, what's this? Liam wondered to himself as he watched Kern leaving his apartment, a large duffle bag tossed over his shoulder.  
  
************  
  
Elizabeth finished tucking her hair into place, and walked quickly to the front door. "I'll be back for a bit in the morning, Will. Night!" She called out over her shoulder as she left. She made sure to check the lock, then took off in her suburban.  
  
************  
  
The shadow follows her, he thought. Follows her and asks for her. She is special. The dark clothed man stood from behind the bushes, and walked slowly towards the back door. Waiting for a moment, he knocked on the door.  
  
Inside, she heard, and put down the book she was reading. She clambered towards the front door, pulling her robe on as she walked. She opened the door, and looked outward expectantly, not seeing anyone standing there. She smiled at the familiar young man on the front steps. As she opened the door to let him in, his arm reached out to grab her around the face, and he held a cloth to her mouth and nose.  
  
She opened her mouth to scream from reflex, and vicious vapors entered her lungs, burning the entire way down. Before she could take a moment to think about it, she was falling, her form slumping to the ground unconsciously.  
  
His lips curled into a smile as he stepped into view, his dark head shrouded in shadow still.  
  
************  
  
Elizabeth called Liam on the cell, and had him meet her two blocks over. He got out of the SUV and shrugged. "Nothing at all happening on this end. Kern left his place, but that was almost an hour ago. Stanton came home, empty handed as usual. I gotta say, Buff, this doesn't look like he's our guy."  
  
Elizabeth's eyes shot to his with a semi-glare when she heard how he addressed her. "My name is not Buff or Buffy, Liam, and you know it. Now, go home and get some sleep."  
  
Liam chuckled and swatted her on the head with his folder he had curled into a tube in his hands. He nodded and got back into his SUV. He called shout over his shoulder that he would see her soon.  
  
Elizabeth walked back to her suburban, and waited another ten minutes before starting it up, and heading back to park on the opposite side of the street, facing the opposite direction. She saw that Kern had slipped back in while they had been talking, and noted the time down in the log.  
  
************  
  
She was opening her eyes. That was a good sign, and he noted it in his log. The video would of course show everything that was needed, including a date and time stamp, but he preferred to keep his own log as well.  
  
He watched her through the mirror, and saw as she stumbled forward, clutching at her head. No doubt it would be heavy feeling, slightly enlarged with a dull cottony feeling. She wouldn't be able to do much of anything for the next 12 hours, give or take 30 minutes.  
  
His lips curved into a sardonic grin as he watched her lift her arms, noting how tender and heavy they must feel to her. He had been drugged like that once, and could well remember the feeling they had caused in him. He had vowed then that there would be no more chances for them to make him feel weak, inferior. No, he would be stronger. He would be the victor in the end.  
  
They just needed to see that. 


	6. Waiting, Watching, and Worrying

Chapter 6  
  
Elizabeth yawned as dawn neared. Liam would be back soon, and she would be able to at least rest her eyes as he watched over the two small dwellings. Neither had left their places again the entire night, and no one had come over, though that was never an issue, since no one ever came over to begin with. When her phone rang, Elizabeth jumped, then took in deep breaths to calm her heavy beating heart and answered it.  
  
"Detective Summers"  
  
"Hey Buff, I'm on my way, meet me in 5? I've got doughnuts and coffee.." His voice took on a tone as if he were trying to tempt a sullen child with forbidden goodies. It was early enough in the morning, and she had gotten little enough sleep, that she hadn't even noticed how he addressed her.  
  
"I'll be there in a few." She hung the phone up, and left. The promise of doughnuts was always a good one. She just hoped he remembered to bring the jelly filled kind, which were her favorite.  
  
************  
  
It's such a pretty color, all this blood. It runs ever so nicely down her front, making pretty pictures on her bare chest. The lone figure looked over the prone body of the beaten girl. Her hair was matted in placed, heavy with the blood caused from one of the 3 beatings she had already received that morning. I wonder if she wants to play.  
  
************  
  
As the two pulled into the station that morning, neither was thinking of their case, but rather of the tension growing slowly between them. Liam knew what would cure it, and had stopped looking at Elizabeth in a strictly professional way. As she stepped into the early morning light, the sun hit her head just right, causing her hair to take on a glow. He frowned as he noticed it, and turned away from her.  
  
Elizabeth hurried up the stairs, and they made their way towards the meeting room. Inside, everyone was already seated and the meeting had started. Elizabeth apologized, and quietly made her way to the back to sit near Willow. It wasn't until she got there that she realized Willow wasn't there.  
  
Elizabeth frowned as she looked around the room, her eyes darting over the heads turned towards the front. Liam stopped short behind her, then motioned for her to sit near him. They found their seats, and the meeting continued.  
  
Afterwards, Elizabeth made her way towards the front, and started asking about her friend. No one had seen her that morning, and Elizabeth couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was settling in the pit of her stomach.  
  
************  
  
She doesn't understand, but she will. Oh, she will. He looked over the girl in front of him, then turned and walked away, hearing her questions behind him.  
  
************  
  
Willow's eyes popped open, and she took in as much of the dark room as she could. She groaned softly in pain as the woman stood over her. Her long dark hair blocked out most of the light and Willow's view.  
  
"My pretty party girl has woken up. How does my pretty girl feel?" The voice was high pitched, bordering on hysteria. Willow closed her eyes as the voice echoed through her throbbing head. She tried to talk, but found that her mouth hurt too much to move. She couldn't move her arm, either, and fresh tears sprang to her dark eyes.  
  
"Oh, my beautiful dolly can't talk." The woman's lips frowned in a pout, and she smacked Willow's mouth. "You are no fun, dolly. I think I'll go play with my other dollies."  
  
She turned with a flip of her hair, and left the room, shutting the door tightly behind her. The little light that was in the room was gone, plunging a frightened Willow into darkness. Willow took in a deep breath, and urged herself to calm down. She called on her police experience to calm herself, and soon, she was breathing deeply.  
  
************  
  
Elizabeth was frantic now. She tried Willow's pager, her cell, and their home number, and there was nothing. She was grabbed her coat and headed towards the elevator bay when Liam stopped her.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"I have to find Willow This isn't like here, she never misses work. At least, not without telling me."  
  
"Then I'll go with you." He steered her towards the elevator, his hand on her elbow. He pushed back the feeling of excitement in his belly at the simple touch. They left the building, and when she went to drive, Liam took the keys and steered her towards the passenger side. Elizabeth frowned slightly, but got in anyway. Liam quickly steered them towards the house she shared with Willow. She hadn't been there since the night before, and was anxious at what she might find.  
  
The trip was made in silence, and when Elizabeth glanced over at Liam, she saw his jaw as tightened, and the muscle in it was twitching ever so slightly. She let her gaze drift downward a bit towards his arms, and down to his hands on the steering wheel. Elizabeth quickly pulled her gaze away, and looked out the window.  
  
A few minutes later, they turned onto the street where the girls lived. Pulling up at the house, they both noted at once that Willow's car was in the driveway. Elizabeth was out the door before the suburban rolled to a complete stop, and she was running through the front door. She noted in the back of her mind that it was unlocked, but that it was shut completely.  
  
Elizabeth tore through the house quickly, hollering Willow's name as she went. A cold icy chill raced down her spine as she ran franticly from room to room. When she made it to Willow's room, she saw that both her purse and her car keys were on the dresser. Liam bumped into her as she turned from the room.  
  
"She's gone, she's not here. All her stuff is here, but she's not. We have to find her.!" Her voice was raised in hysteria as she pushed past Liam, and went to a phone. She called into the office and reported her missing. The officer on the other end promised a squad car and a detective out immediately. While they normally waited a bit longer to dispatch detectives, Willow was one of them, and they watched out for their own. Elizabeth felt Liam's comforting hands brushing on her arms.  
  
"We'll find her, Buff, don't worry. She'll be fine." Liam's voice was soft in her ear, purring to her as she let herself lean back slightly, so that her body was just barely resting against his chest. "Just calm down, and think. She's a cop, she knows what she's doing in a situation like this. We're all trained for this. She has a good chance, Buff."  
  
Elizabeth took in a deep breath, and closed her eyes. 


	7. Faces Revealed

Chapter 7  
  
It was 20 minutes later when Elizabeth talked with her nearest neighbor. She finally got a break on information. The car that had been at the house last night was black, and the license started with a V. The neighbor was part of the neighborhood watch, and took notes of when cars came and went if she didn't recognize them.  
  
Most people just called her a nosy old lady, and she was, but she had an excuse now. She went through car models with Lucille, and they came up with two different similar models. Buffy had a nagging sensation in the pit of her belly.  
  
************  
  
"Does my dolly have to leave now? I want to keep her. She is so beautiful. You cannot have her, I will not let you. I want to make my hair like her hair, and then we'll be very bestest friends." The voice over the phone screeched in his ear, and he had to pull it back to hear anything straight.  
  
"Now, now, don't you worry, Button. We'll get you a new dolly, just like before."  
  
"But I like THIS one!"  
  
"Button, I don't have time for this right now. I need to go, they'll be asking for me soon."  
  
************  
  
Elizabeth walked towards her house, and she scanned the police there. In her mind, she was mentally placing cars, trying to figure out where she had seen a car recently. Her eyes flittered over the uniformed police, stopping at one or two, then moving on. Finally, they rested on him, and she closed her eyes.  
  
"Hey, nice wheels, Xan. when did you get those?"  
  
"Last night, actually. I think I'm in love."  
  
She opened her eyes and she looked at Alex as he put his cell phone away. His eyes met hers, and she forced herself to smile. Her mind was working double time, however, trying to figure out if it was him or not. Elizabeth walked quietly inside, and found Liam in Willow's bedroom. She pulled him aside, and slipped to the basement with him.  
  
"Buff, what's this about?" He asked once they were in the basement.  
  
"I talked to my nosy neighbor finally, Liam. The car, she described the car, and I knew I had seen it recently." Liam looked hopeful as Elizabeth talked.  
  
"Yeah, and?"  
  
"It's Alex Harris' car. I swear, Liam, I know it's his car. There was a scratch on the one side, a very large visible scratch, and his had one when I saw him with it last week. Same color and model. I need to find his plate ID, though. Can you run it without him knowing? I can keep him busy looking for clues or something."  
  
Liam eyed her despairingly, and then nodded. "Yeah, I can come up with something. Just keep him busy."  
  
He disappeared upstairs while Elizabeth tried to think of a way to get Alex alone. She finally went upstairs slowly, and wandered out to the front yard. Alex was standing alone off to the side. His eyes were scanning everyone, as though he were looking for clues that they might know something.  
  
His face settled into a smirk when his eyes met Elizabeth's, and he quickly forced it off his face before turning a pleasant smile in her direction. She walked up to him, and smiled herself.  
  
"Hello Harris. I was wondering if we could. maybe. talk alone for a moment?" She looked up at him with wide eyes, hoping he would fall for her act.  
  
"Yeah, sure, what's up?"  
  
"Not here, to many people." She took hold of his hand, and pulled him towards her backyard, where they sat on the porch. After they sat down, Elizabeth started fidgeting around, acting as though she were nervous. "Harris.Alex. I was wondering if you could stay here with me. I don't feel safe right now, and I won't, not until that nut case is brought in. They got Willow, and she's trained nearly as well as I am."  
  
"Elizabeth, I would be honored to stay here." His smile was slightly leering as he watched her fidget around on the porch, her eyes down cast. "If you would rather, you can come and stay at my place."  
  
************  
  
Liam worked fast, calling in the car, and finding out the plate number. Viper. He growled low and crumpled the paper he had in his hands. He despised that the trail was leading towards Harris. He didn't know much about the guy, but he was supposed to be one of the good guys, not the bad.  
  
Liam hurriedly walked towards the back yard where he saw Elizabeth lead Harris, and he stopped just before turning the corner. From where he stood, he could hear her agreeing to stay the night with Harris that night. Liam clenched his hands at his sides as he listened, his first urge to run in and save her from him.  
  
He heard her talking about work and the case a bit, but Harris gave nothing away to her. Liam counted down in his head, and walked casually into the back yard.  
  
"Hey Buff, that thing you asked me to check out came back positive. What do you want to do?" His eyes went back and forth between Harris and Elizabeth, trying to judge how the other man was feeling, but Harris gave nothing away in his face.  
  
"Oh, I had hoped it wouldn't, but I guess we should let the chief know. Alex, can you please come with me?" She kept her voice even, hoping not to alarm Alex at all, but she could tell from the look on his face that he knew something was going on. He stood quickly, and before either Elizabeth or Liam could react, he had a knife at her throat.  
  
"Drop the weapon now, Harris!" Liam barked as he aimed his gun at Harris. "Hey man, you do that, and she's gone. You wouldn't want her blood on your hands, would you?"  
  
"Just put the knife down, Harris. I've already informed the chief myself, and everyone is waiting out front for you to surrender. There's a car on its way to your place as we speak."  
  
Xander looked towards the corner, as if expecting a swat team to rush him at any given moment, but there was nothing, no added sound, and no movement, nothing except the gentle breeze that almost mocked the tense situation. 


	8. Surprise Help

Chapter 8  
  
Elizabeth held her body tightly erect, willing herself not to move at all. She heard the entire conversation, but it almost felt as though everything were moving in slow motion. She closed her eyes gently, and started to count down in her head. Elizabeth made certain that her body didn't betray anything at all in her posture.  
  
The two were still talking; Liam's voice was low and humming with energy, while Alex's voice was high strung with a nervous sort of energy. He was tight against Elizabeth, and his hand was hot and heavy against her midsection. The words the two were saying were coming at her in a blur, and she tried not to concentrate on the actual words, but on the voices.  
  
A point break in the conversation was what Elizabeth needed, a stalemate, when neither would be talking, but would be concentrating fully on the situation at hand. That's when she knew from training; Alex's concentration on her would break, even if only for a split second. In their rounds at the department gym, he had one weak spot, and Elizabeth knew it well.  
  
A twig snapped to the right, and before Elizabeth could react like she had meant to, Alex spun them both around towards the noise. Elizabeth opened her mouth to shout out a warning, but before she could, she heard the tell tale fire of a gun. Moments blurred together, and she heard several guns firing off.  
  
A sudden searing pain jolted Elizabeth from the blurred state she was in the sphere of, and she had time to look up and see Liam's face coming closer, his mouth open as he shouted something, but she couldn't hear the words as she plummeted unsupported to the ground.  
  
The motion died down, and Liam stood shielding her body, his hands soaked in the blood he was trying to staunch. He could feel the wound, and it was small, but it had hit just the right angle to be a bleeder.  
  
"Call an ambulance! God, someone, call an ambulance!" He leaned down and listened for Elizabeth's breath, and mercifully heard it coming out strongly still. The yard around him became a whirl of activity. A few feet away, Alex lay on the ground, his sightless eyes gaping at the open sky above.  
  
A young officer, no more then a year off the academy, had spotted Liam heading towards the backyard, and had gone to follow behind. He had been just far enough behind to have caught what Alex was saying before he was seen. He quickly had alerted the others of the situation, and they went to do their job. Get the bad guy, and diffuse the situation.  
  
Everyone was milling about, checking on Elizabeth, and trying to get information on the entire situation, including where they thought Willow was. Liam gave them as much information as he could, but they ended up having to look up his home details. Once they found out his registered address, they quickly dispatched several cars towards it.  
  
The ambulance finally showed up, and while the EMT's were working on Elizabeth, Liam stood and started to walk slowly from one side of the yard to the other, his mind working quickly to deal with the damage at hand. He glanced over at Harris, and started to walk closer to him. He had to figure out just what everyone knew, and what Harris had said to Elizabeth before he had gotten back there.  
  
As the EMT's worked on Elizabeth, Liam walked from Harris over to her. They had her shirt pulled up and away from the wound to gauge it before placing her into the ambulance. A young woman was holding gauze tightly to the wound as the blood flowed easily from her side. They were trying to staunch it and cleanse it at the same time, and were able to slow the flow considerably before they wrapped a bandage tightly around her entire belly to hold it tight enough against the wound.  
  
They were loading Elizabeth into an ambulance when a cell phone started to ring. It took several people a few moments to locate the phone in the pocket of Alex Harris' jacket. Liam pushed away the officer who gripped the phone, and pressed the talk button.  
  
"Officer Harris," Liam stated into the phone, deepening his voice just a touch.  
  
"Puppy, come home to me, my dolly isn't being very nice. I want to play, and she keeps screaming. Can I cut her tongue out, puppy?" Drusilla's whining voice filled the speaker, the voice high-pitched and slightly hysterical. Liam pulled the phone back from his ear just a bit with a grimace.  
  
"Which doll is that, dear?" His voice flowed silkily through the phone, and he was rewarded with an immediate answer.  
  
"My little red haired doll. Puppy, I want red hair, too! Why is my hair so plain! My dolly has pretty hair and I want pretty hair. Can I have her hair?"  
  
"Darling, I would love to give you her hair, but I need for you to tell me where you are. I can't seem to find you. I've lost you, my darling."  
  
"I'm at the cabin, silly puppy. When are you coming back to me?" Her voice took on an even whinier appeal, and Liam was reminded of his cousin's daughter during a temper tantrum she had had at the store a few weeks back.  
  
"I'll be there soon, love. Please, be good to your dolly. I'll let you do whatever you want when I find you." Liam's voice purred as he talked with her.  
  
"But. where is my Alex, puppy? Is he coming too?"  
  
"Baby, I don't think so. Don't worry, it will all be over soon." His voice was confident and sure as he talked with her. The men standing around him were waiting to hear the conversation from her end.  
  
"I love you, Liam. I'll be waiting." Drusilla purred into his ear just before he hung the phone up. He glanced around at the faces waiting for him to talk, and then glanced at the departing ambulance.  
  
"She said she was at the house, playing with her dolly. She didn't seem to suspect anything out of the normal."  
  
*TBC* Was that evil of me? 


End file.
